The meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s third reactor building was even worse than initially believed, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has announced.

In fact, the power
company’s new appraisal of the Fukushima No. 3 reactor building
shows that all – or nearly all – of the fuel rods contained
inside were melted, dropping onto the floor of the containment
vessel. If true, the news means the power plant could be even
tougher to decommission.

According to the Japan Times, TEPCO first estimated back in
November of 2011 that roughly 63 percent of the reactor’s fuel
rods had melted.

But TEPCO now believes that after studying conditions surrounding
the fuel core, the reactor’s cooling system stopped functioning
more than five hours earlier than previously estimated. As a
result, the meltdown would have started around that same time
period.

As reported by the Yomiuri Shimbun, it is possible that with more
nuclear fuel resting in the containment vessel than originally
estimated, removing it will require even more careful planning.

“As the core meltdown is now believed to have started earlier
than was previously thought, the amount of melted nuclear fuel
that passed into the containment vessel through the pressure
vessel is considered to have been greater, making it technically
more difficult to extract the melted fuel and dispose of
it,” the newspaper stated.

Despite the new findings, however, TEPCO spokesman Shinichi
Kawamura said the company is still hoping to find some fuel that
had not melted down.

“We think some fuel still remains at the core part based on
the actual plant data,” he said, as quoted by the Japan
Times.

The news comes as the effects of the nuclear meltdown continue to
be felt throughout the region. In late July, a new report
discovered that Japan’s famous macaque
monkeys were testing positive for blood abnormalities that could
potentially make them more susceptible to infectious diseases.
The tests were conducted on wild monkeys living in the Fukushima
region, and the results of the blood exams were linked to the
radioactive fallout at the power plant.

Meanwhile, another July report by Japan’s agriculture ministry
found that fourteen different rice paddies – all outside of the
power plant’s evacuation zone – were contaminated with
radioactive material. As RT reported then, five others inside the
evacuation zone were also contaminated, pushing the ministry to
order TEPCO to implement better protective measures for future
work at the plant